Join Us

Houston ChronicleJune 14, 2009Joseph Racicot and his partner, Roland, will celebrate their eighth anniversary as a couple on Tuesday. They will spend their anniversary some 1,500 miles apart because under federal law, gay and lesbian U.S. citizens are not entitled to apply for legal status for their partners, even if their marriage is recognized by state law. “The bottom line is that we wouldn’t be going through this if, as an American, I had the right to sponsor my partner,” said Roland. [Link]

The Associated PressJune 10, 2009The mayor of San Angelo, Texas offered a stunning explanation when he suddenly resigned: He was in love with a man who was an illegal immigrant and had gone to Mexico. His local prominence and his run for the border on the day he was supposed to be sworn in for a fourth term caused jaws to drop, but it also became a high-profile example of the thousands of Americans who face a similar choice — separate or move abroad — because they can't secure green cards for their partners like heterosexual spouses can. [Link]

The Huffington PostJune 10, 2009Jennifer Brunner, the Secretary of State of Ohio, writes:

...it is time for marriage equality to be available to all, straight or LGBT. We are a community, and in these times, we must support and depend on each other as people do in a real community. ... A good start is to recognize family in all the ways it emerges, for a stronger social fabric that will support us as we pursue the founding ideals of our country for years to come. Marriage equality's time is now.

Pam's House BlendJune 3, 2009Julian Bond, the Chairman of the National Board of Directors of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the NAACP, testified last Wednesday at the UAFA Senate Hearings before the Senate Judiciary on the discrimination LGBT couples face regarding immigration laws. Mr. Bond's statements included the following:

The definition of family should not be interpreted so stringently as to exclude loving couples who happen to be of the same gender. Family sponsorship accounts for more than 85% of legal immigration in the US; the system has not been updated in 20 years.

Associated PressApril 24, 2009Shirley Tan, a Filipino immigrant facing deportation and separation from her partner and family, will likely be allowed to remain in the U.S. through next year after Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced an emergency immigration bill in Congress that would give Tan two years to apply for a new visa or for permanent U.S. residency. [Link]

The Chronicle urges the passage of the Uniting American Families Act, citing the case of Shirley Tan, a Filipino immigrant who could be separated from her partner, Jay Mercado, if she is deported Friday under federal immigration laws that fail to protect gay families. [Link]

March 29, 2009Binational gay couples discuss how the so-called DOMA and non-inclusive federal immigration laws negatively effect their lives, affirming their support for a change in federal law that would grant gay partners the immigration protections afforded to straight married couples.[Link]

"The Uniting American Families Act would allow gay and lesbian Americans and permanent residents to sponsor their foreign-born partners for legal residency in the United States. The bill, introduced last month in the Senate by Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and in the House by Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), would add 'permanent partner' and 'permanent partnership' after the words 'spouse' and 'marriage' in relevant sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act. If passed, it would right a gross unfairness." [Link]

South Florida Sun SentinelOctober 8, 2008A bill that would grant immigration protections to gay couples so they can stay together in the U.S. has stalled in Congress. [Link]Learn more about why marriage matters to binational couples.

IndybaySeptember 30, 2008The Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California (APALC) called for an end to immigration discrimination against same-sex binational couples in a detailed report, “A Devastating Wait: Family Unity and the Immigration Backlogs.” [Link]